I'll Be the One in Red
by DifferentIsBeautiful
Summary: Against the wishes of their parents, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy become fast friends. From the first time she spoke, Scorpius Malfoy knew he was in love with her, but will she ever feel the same way about him? Set in their seventh year at Hogwarts, and told from Scorpius' POV.
1. A Flash of Orange

**Welcome to my second RosexScorpius Fanfiction... If you read Wrong For Me, this is very different. As in... It's actually a RosexScorpius. It should be good:) I've got lots of stuff planned. Read on, my lovelies:) **

**Whole story is from Scorpius POV:)**

"Ready, Malfoy?" She asked, her tone burning with eagerness. Her eyes glittered with a burning passion. A passion to win.

"Of course. May the better man win?" I offered, feeling my eyes sparkle with the same desire.

She rolled her eyes, "You're practically asking to lose now, Malfoy. I thought you WANTED to win."

I raised one eyebrow at this, "Is that so? I guess we'll see. I'll meet you at the pitch, Weasley." I said, winking and outstretching my hand.

"I'll be the one in red." She teased back, grasping my hand, shaking it firmly, and then clasping me tightly to her chest, clapping me on the back.

I watched as she turned around, flouncing away. Her overly cocky confidence was an object of desire for every boy in our year. The way her flaming red hair was bouncing behind her was distinctly rebellious and shot off an air like she owned the world, and as far as Rose Weasley was concerned, she did. God. I loved that girl with every ounce of my being. She was the the gold to my silver, the day to my night, the fire to my ice, and she had me melting. Pretty. Damn. Sexy.

On my first day of Hogwarts, I had seen her. Her father had gripped her shoulders and pointed to me. I could pretty easily imagine what he was saying, it wasn't hard. I had been mesmerized by her round, rebellious face for only the fewest seconds before my father placed a cruel and heavy hand on my shoulder, turning me around. He insisted that I never speak to Rose Weasley. Ever. I nodded slowly, terrified of him as always. He then dipped his sharp chin twice and pushed me away without another word. He sent me off on the Hogwarts Express for my very first time with no more goodbye than a warning. I had figured that it would be easy to avoid her. She wasn't supposed to talk to me, and I wasn't supposed to talk to her. I had accepted that.

I had settled quietly into an empty compartment on my own. I was never a social kid; I was awkward and quiet, shunned because of my history. I remember that I had pulled out my notebook and added some short blurbs about the Express to my notes. I described the worn rugs, the squeaky trolley, and the softly worn auburn leather seats. Writing was my only escape. Some people drew, but I wrote. I considered myself an artist, but with words. I drew the picture of my life in words. I was frantically scribbling away, trying to capture the beauty of the old train in words when the compartment door flew open, revealing a flash of carroty hair dragging a wary looking boy with an untidy black mop in tow.

"You." She said, pointing one small pale finger in my direction. I froze. Rose Weasley was in my compartment, what, 20 minutes after I had been so strictly warned? "You and me. We're going to be best friends." That's when her full pink lips broke apart into a crooked grin, and everything changed. All of a sudden, my world flipped upside down, turning my stomach over and over. Rose Weasley was standing in front of me, her I wanted nothing more than to absolutely agree to anything she said. The girl was small, but hell, she was scary. But it wasn't just that, she was incredible. The first 10 words that came out of her mouth, and I knew I was in love with her. At eleven, I was a pretty committed kid.

"Are you just gonna sit there like an idiot with your mouth open, or are you coming with me?" She pressed and I snapped my mouth shut. I looked at the boy behind her, and saw him mouth something that looked awfully similar to 'sorry', but I couldn't be sure. She rolled her eyes, and I noticed that they were brown. Not just brown, but a dark russet flecked with dashes of gold and auburn. I had a feeling I could write for hours about just her eyes.

I got up from my seat and followed this girl. I followed her like a puppy dog trailing its mother. She led me down the long empty hallway to her compartment and introduced me to her friends.

"Guys, this is Scorpius." A series of different responses had followed this revelation; two blonde twins had rolled their eyes in synchronization, the scraggly black haired boy had shaken his head, and an older boy with the same features as the scraggly one had let loose a colorful stream of profanities.

"Damn Rose! You never listen do you?! A fucking Malfoy in our compartment?! Your dad's gonna flip…" He finished with a smug smirk, almost as if to say that he was all for Rose getting chewed out. I had a burning hole in the pit of my stomach, telling me that it was wrong that I was here, so for the first time, I spoke up.

"Maybe I should leave…" I mumbled, half hoping that no one would hear me. No one did. Rose put her hands on her hips and for an 11 year old, she looked scary as hell.

"He can't tell me what to do, and neither can you! I'll do what I want. And I want Scorpius Malfoy to be my best friend." She finished with a huff. And that had been that. From that moment on, I was Rose Weasley's best friend. And she was mine. And there was nothing anything could do to stop us.

On the train, we talked about Quidditch. Everyone talked about Quidditch. With all the time I spent alone, I knew a hellalot about Quidditch, and everyone was fascinated. The oldest boy, I learned his name was James, (a Potter, I should have know. Only… Why wasn't I warned about them?) was boasting to anyone that would listen that he knew he was getting his position back as seeker this year. I t was just unavoidable, or so he said. I hadn't given much thought to actually playing Quidditch until Rose butted in and asked,

"What position are you after, Scorp?" _Scorp, _I thought silently, _She called me 'Scorp'. _"I'm going for Chaser. Plus, I think I'd look damn sexy in those red robes." This statement received a simultaneous slap from both her older cousins.

"Right, Rosie. It'll be a decade before you're allowed to look sexy." She crossed her arms at this, and pouted, but I was still curious.

"A chaser? But isn't Quidditch kinda… For boys?" I asked, but it was the wrong move. Rose Weasley's face flew out of her pout and her arms uncrossed for the sheer purpose of having a finger to jab in my direction.

"You think, that just because I'm a girl, I couldn't kick your arse in Quidditch a million times over?!" She screeched, and received another swat for cussing at me. "You're on Malfoy. I'd like to see you try."

Feeling cocky, I replied "I'll meet you at the pitch, Weasley." And to my great relief, she laughed.

"I'll be the one in red." She winked, receiving yet a third swat from her cousins. Fun bunch they were.

He flaming hair had been blown back in her bout of fury, but she sat down eventually.

"Red?" I asked "What if you aren't in Gryffindor?" She laughed at this, too.

"Of course I'll be in Gryffindor. Everyone in my family for AGES has been in Gryffindor. I'm just as brave as the rest of them." I didn't say anything, but I did silently agree with her. I couldn't imagine Rose Weasley in any house but Gryffindor.

When the sorting had rolled around, I came before my new best friend, and was sorted into Slytherin almost without a second thought. I was… Silently relieved, because I knew my father would be the closest thing to proud he could be. Rose had been sorted quickly into Gryffindor after wearing the hat for no more than 3 seconds and she had hopped off the stool looking extremely pleased with herself. I had figured then and there that my newfound friendship was already over, but I was wrong. Just seconds after the sorting was over, Rose had slipped out of her seat at the Gryffindor table and wedged herself next to me at the Slytherin table. She had taken my hand in hers and smiled that round grin, and honestly, I couldn't help but smile back. She was the one. That much, I was absolutely, undeniably sure of.

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	2. Twisted Up

The very first time I played her in Quidditch; she tore me apart, and spread me out across the pitch. Twice. And the entire time, she laughed like a maniac, her flaming curls streaming out behind her. I remember first kicking off the hard September ground and feeling the cool breeze whip at my face for about 7 seconds before she shoved me off my broom. I fell about 10 feet the first time and I remember spraining my wrist. But I was a stubborn-ass kid, so I got right back on, and challenged her to a race; which, also turned out to be a terrible idea, ending with me sprawled on my back for a second time. It had hurt like hell, but the look on her face made it all worth it somehow. The expression of glee as she soared past me made me forget all about myself. And that was the first time I realized that I would be willing to suffer through any kind of pain for this girl. Even the worst types.

Being as stubborn as I was, and hell, still am, I wouldn't give up. I made her promise to meet me every day at the pitch and practice with me. Every day, she would finish her homework and come out to meet me, never failing to be there. She'd say with a wink" I'll be the one in red." And I'd laugh. Our little catchphrase was the highlight of every day. It was special because she shared it with only me. She'd knock me off my broom at least twice a day, but at least I was learning. And her smile always made it worth it. I couldn't understand the power she had over me, but it was so undeniably strong, that I never questioned it. She made the Gryffindor team her first year, beating out seventh years for her position, so I felt the tiniest bit less terrible about losing to a girl… Over, and over. But in truth, she wasn't just any girl. She was Rose Weasley, the fastest, smartest, cutest and most bad-ass girl in our year. Rose Weasley didn't take shit from anyone, especially me.

"Scorpius Malfoy! You blithering idiot! If you don't try to stay on your broom, what am I supposed to do with you?! You FLY with it, not FALL." She rolled her eyes, but there was no real annoyance in her words. There was a devilish grin hidden under her false irritation at me. I grinned back.

"Again?" I asked hopefully, and she smiled, ready to go again already. I remember that specific day, it was the first time I had ever beaten her in a race. I had expected her to be furious with me, but she had smiled proudly at my success, and we had dived into even more complex and tricky maneuvers. She had taught me how to dive, dodge, and weave inconspicuously through all the other players. But eventually even Rose had to admit that I was just as good as she was, and there wasn't much more she could teach me. My second year, I became the Slytherin seeker, and the competition between the two of us started in earnest.

But that never changed anything. Every day, she would still meet me at the pitch. Sometimes we'd practice diving, or we'd race, but other times, we wouldn't. We would lie in the soft grass of the pitch, our feet in opposite directions, but our heads together. We'd talk about our days, and she'd tell me about her family. She'd tell me how she hated being the oldest, but she hated how her cousins treated her like a child. Sometimes she would ask about my family, and I would tell her how lonely I was when I was at home. I would talk to her about the way my father was always disappointed in me, no matter what I did, and my mother never cared enough to do anything for me. We could talk for hours, but sometimes we didn't. Sometimes we would lay there in silence, just thinking. Just the two of us.

My first years at Hogwarts were better than I could have ever imagined. I grew incredibly close not just to Rose, but to Albus too. We'd study together, eat meals together, and explore together. With as much trouble we caused, we earned the nickname "the Second Golden Trio". I had always thought it was ironic. A Malfoy in the Second Golden Trio? It was pretty high praise if you asked me. Rose was the most outgoing person I'd ever known, and honestly, I'd follow her to the ends of the earth if that was what she wanted. We broke into so many off-limits classrooms and forbidden corridors that we discovered more about the old school than we thought was possible. Together, we ended up in hundreds of "sticky" predicaments like the time in our fourth year that Rose had convinced us to sneak into the newest addition to the castle, Greenhouse Four in the middle of the night. Ignoring the "CAUTION: NO STUDENTS ALLOWED" sign, Rose had bewitched the lock and marched right in.

"Holy shit. Look at this!" She whispered, and I had to hand it to her, this place was incredible. Enormous sleeping plants lined the pale green glass walls. Rose had taken off running through the maze of exotic foliage, her small feet barely making a sound against the hard concrete floor of the building. Albus and I had stumbled after her, clambering around without half the grace she possessed. We found her towards the back of the suddenly frightening place. It's beauty abruptly replaced with terror. She was seriously entangled in a series of purple vines. We stepped forward to pull her out, but felt ourselves yanked roughly into the grasps of the incredibly strong plant appendages instead. I yanked against my bonds, but to no avail. We both were barely able to crane our heads to look at Rose, but we managed.

"Rose. Ginevra. Weasley. If we ever get out of here alive, I'm taking my broomstick and beating you upside the head with it, do you understand?" She just barely managed to shift enough to stick her tongue out at me before the plant constricted painfully against her body. I was abruptly hit by how beautiful she had become. The carroty curls that cascaded down her back had tamed over the years, slowing growing out of its frizz and changing to a softer, beautiful red. The round face I knew so well had lost its baby fat, highlighting her high cheekbones and soft pink pout. Her slender petite frame had been filled out over time, making her curvy in all the right places, but all the Quidditch she played made her lean and fit. The one thing that hadn't changed at all was her eyes. They still glinted fiercely with the same determination they always had, and they were still round and wide with rebellion, the gold chips shining out with defiance.

"SCORP? SCORP? SCOPIUS MALFOY! Pay attention to me!" Her voice shocked me out of my thoughts, and I looked at her guiltily, thinking of all the attention I had already been paying to her. "I know how to get out of here." I rolled my eyes. Some twisted combination of her mother's brains and her father's oddness gave consistently gave her wild plans to escape from our predicaments.

"You better. This is an awful situation." Albus butted in.

"Awful? I wouldn't say so." She contradicted thoughtfully.

"Okay then. What do you call 'AWFUL'?" He asked, raising one eyebrow.

"I like to save the word awful for when things get really bad. Like, 'Oh my god, how will we ever escape this terrible nasty trap we have twisted ourselves into' That sort of stuff."

"I kinda thought we were there…" I mumbled, exchanging a knowing glance with Albus, but Rose was beyond listening to us. She was calculating in her head, and I could practically see the gears shifting in her mind. I was about to ask for a free pass into her head when she stretched out her neck, biting down hard on one of the vines constricting her. It made a screeching noise as it retreated, and I felt the vines holding me relax, so I leapt out of their grasp, breathing hard. Albus jumped down beside me, and we waited for Rose to follow, but some venom in the plant was having an effect on her, and she barely managed to take a step into nothingness before passing out and falling into my arms. Me and Albus started to drag her out of the Greenhouse when a tall and slender looking figure blocked our path.

"Proffesor Davis." I heard Albus breathe from behind me, and Rose's eyelids fluttered open for a mere second before she mumbled,

"Now this, is a situation." And I felt her go entirely limp.

We didn't explore for a while after that.

Albus and I were best mates, but nothing compared to me and Rose. When she was with me, she became a different person. A different person than the cocky girl she was around her cousins. When I asked her why that was, she had looked at me thoughtfully, and said "Because I never have to pretend with you, Scorp." And I was suddenly struck by the truth of her words. She didn't have to be anything for me, and I never had to be anything for her. But I learned from her tough shell. To the world, we became a bad-ass couple that could tear the world apart at its seams with the flick of a finger if we wanted to. She was clever and funny, the first one to a laugh. She could be sarcastic and cruel, and could ruin your self-image with 10 words if she wanted to. She wasn't physical, but she wasn't the type of girl you wanted to screw with. And honestly, I took after her. I was transformed from the quiet innocent boy to a sharp, sadistic young man. I was charming, in the most deadly way possible.

Over the summers, I was never permitted to see Rose. I was beaten almost daily for my excursions during school, as it was impossible for them to go unnoticed. My father described them as "inappropriate midnight excursions with the Weasley slut". I had hit him back for that one, but paid dearly for it. Sometimes Rose's owl Baltimore would tap lightly on my window in the middle of the night and leave small candies or notes. They got me through the nightmarish way I spent my summers. Every year when my letter came in the mail, it was like a salvation. It felt as if I was being released from prison. Every time that letter came, I believed in God a little bit more, even though I was raised strictly antireligious. The summer before my seventh year, my letter had come with a special note in it. When I opened the soft piece of parchment with trembling hands, I automatically recognized the scrawling handwriting. It only had six words on it, and a date, 9/15. The date marked the day of the very first Quidditch match of the year: Gryffindor vs Slytherin. I grinned, as I read the words she had written so carefully, I could practically feel the eagerness dripping from her voice as I looked over the six simple words again and again_. I'll be the one in red._

**Chapter two. I hope you enjoy:) More to come as soon as I can, keep reviewing and thanks so much for your support!:)**


	3. The Scorched and Ragged Burn

I looked back at my locked door and then again at my window, trying to calculate the distance from my window to the ground. But it was dark, so it was near impossible to tell. After probably an hour of trying to talk myself out of it, I decided to jump. I threw my cloak and a pair of robes down first, followed quickly by two of my favorite books; they thudded softly into the ground, splaying open. The sound they made hitting the earth was slightly disconcerting, but now that my stuff was down there, I had to jump. I tucked my wand, Rose's note, and the rest of my money into the pocket of my jeans, and climbed onto the windowsill. I perched precariously for a couple seconds, then I jumped.

The impact of my feet into the hard dirt was anything but soft. I heard myself swear loudly as my ankles jammed themselves into my knees. I rolled onto my back, waiting for the sharp pain in my shins to subside. After a couple minutes, I poked carefully at my ankles and winced. Nothing was broken, but possibly sprained. I poked my right side again, flinching. Definitely sprained.

I pulled myself to my feet, leaning heavily on my left leg. I picked up my robes and tossed them into my backpack. Losing my trunk would suck, but my inner logic had decided it would be useless to throw that out the window too. I gazed up at my dark house, looming ominously in the midnight light and sighed. I certainly wasn't looking forward to seeing this house again anytime soon, but leaving it like that had a frightening sense of finality to it. I never would have done it if it hadn't been for my seventeenth birthday the night before. I closed my eyes in front of my old home for the last time as the squeezing sensation began to surround me, encasing me in a black rubber tube and stretching me out. I lost my breath somewhere between my countryside house and London, and I hit the cold cobblestones hard, losing balance on my hurt ankle and collapsing onto the street. I kneeled on the icy street for a couple moments breathing hard and willing myself not to vomit before wrenching myself to my feet.

Looking up, I grinned. I was right where I wanted to be. I had to admit, the whole apparating thing was extremely risky. Stupidly risky, actually, especially with my ankle. It really had never been my forte, it was Rose's. But hell, after 7 years of knowing her, if I had learned one thing, it was that EVERYTHING was Rose's forte. Dueling, Quidditch, potions, you name it. Anything, that was, except cleaning. Rose tended to make herself at home among the dirtiest filth and the largest stacks of disorganized and wrinkled paper. It was one of the odd quirks I loved about her. I remembered the many times she would pull me onto her unmade bed and we'd lie in silence in her messy dorm. The nightstand was always cluttered with half-read books and almost finished homework assignments, but she loved it that way. She would always glare at me and say "Just because YOU can't find anything, doesn't mean that I can't", and then, as if to prove her point, she would grab the book she needed from the very bottom of the stack and send the rest of them cascading to the floor. Then she'd grab my hand and laugh, skipping away from the newly made mess.

I shook my head in a lame attempt to clear my thoughts. No one really did that, you only read about it. But nonetheless, it seemed to have some effect, and I was focused again. The light from the street lamps pooled around me in round puddles of golden light. I stepped carefully around them to try to avoid being seen. I couldn't imagine muggle police officers going easy on me if I said "I'm just an under nourished wizard that ran away from home because his parents were too wrapped up in the past to ever care about him". I figured they were more likely to dump me in the loony bin before they showed any sympathy, so I stuck to limping through the shadows until I came across the welcoming light of the pub. I pushed open the door, shivering as the yellow light bathed my body in warmth. Somewhere in between almost vomiting and trying to avoid muggle cops I had forgotten to put on my cloak. I looked down at my dark grey t-shirt and shivered again. I hadn't even realized I was cold.

I squared my shoulders as I walked in, trying to favor my right leg and noting the skeptical stares I picked up from the tougher looking blokes. _You're seventeen. _I reminded myself, but I picked a stool at the far end of the bar anyways. The bartender Tom looked up from scrubbing the counter and raised an eyebrow at me.

"Out a little late, Scorpius? Do your parents know you're here?" He asked, his tone colored with a combination of doubt and worry.

"I'm seventeen, Tom. An adult now. They don't need to know." I snapped back. _But I don't want to be seventeen. _I thought pitifully._ I want to be an angst –ridden teenager that can't confront his inner demons. _He held his hands up over his head in apology and went back to cleaning the bar.

"Well then, what can I get you?" He asked, obviously trying to fill my stubborn silence.

"Firewhiskey. And a room."

"Are you sure about that? It's a pretty strong…"

"Firewhiskey." I cut him off. "Hit me." The man shook his head and slid a bottle my way. I cracked it open and took a gulp. The burning liquid cascaded down my throat and I found myself fighting the urge to vomit for the second time that night. My eyes burning, I looked at Tom. "A room. Please." I slid some coins across the table and he tossed me a key.

"Take care of yourself, kid." I glared at him and he shook his head. I dragged myself up the stairs into the small and dingy looking hallway, feeling shooting pains in my leg. I checked my heavy bronze key to find the number _7 _engraved into the soft metal. I paced up and down the hallway at least twice before finding my doorway. Already feeling the effects of the alcohol, I missed the keyhole multiple times before I finally got the key to fit. I turned it slowly, my motions feeling sluggish.

My room was dimly lit and quite small, but it would do until I could go back to Hogwarts. I collapsed onto the bed, taking another swig from my bottle of firewhiskey. The alcohol scorched my throat and I coughed. The drink was starting to have the desired effect. Somewhere between the burning and ragged pain in my throat and the soothing numbness, the memories of earlier that night were becoming softer and I was beginning to lose the sharper details.

"_Go to your room. You're just a child you prat. If you think anyone cares about you or what you think, you're wrong. You're a burden. Can't you see that no one wants you? Not even that bitch you love so much. Yeah, that's right. I know you're in love with the little slut. How many times has she opened those pale little legs for you? Probably none. Like I told you, no one wants you. Just give up." He was sitting in his chair, twirling a glass of some red wine in his hands. It wasn't his first, and I would bet my life it wasn't his last._

_I shook with anger, my whole body feeling his words attack me over and over. _

"_No. You can't tell me what to do."_

"_Aw. Your resistance is cute Scorpius. Now go to your room." I opened my mouth to protest again, but the words were slammed out of my throat as his fist came into contact with my stomach. I doubled over in pain, coughing and feeling the contents of my stomach turn and roll. "Stand up." He ordered, and I managed to straighten my back, and stagger back a step before he hit me again. The back of his hand cracked against the side of my skull and I heard it before I felt it. My head spun and I felt my knee's stop supporting me. I suddenly found myself kneeling on the hardwood floor, the pain sharp and prominent. I suddenly felt a hot voice in my ear. "Go. To. Your. Room. I don't want to see you again tonight." He pulled me up by my collar. "Do you understand?" I felt myself nod and when he released me, it was all I could do to not run. Once I was out of his sight, I did run. I took the stairs two at a time. I never wanted to see the face of my father look at me with such contempt again._

On that thought, I felt myself fall into an uneasy sleep fraught with nightmares. The alcohol in my blood made my slumber nervous and jumpy. Every few minutes, I'd feel myself gasp awake, feeling the slight relief of the lack of nightmares before I would collapse back into them again. At some point during the night, I remember getting up and vomiting. Somewhere around 5:30 I finally dropped into a dreamless state, more coma than sleep. But I took what I could get. It was all I could do.

**Rose comes in on the next chapter, I promise:)**

**Keep on reviewing, you guys are incredible! Thank you Daughters of Hades 14, senga1, booksrbetterthanmovies, LKay09, OurQueenJKR, and fanfictionfreak01.**

**Teaser: Scorpius never got around to finishing that bottle of firewhiskey, but who do you think will help him with that? The two of them play "Have you ever" with shots. **


	4. Have You Ever Been in Love?

It was a voice that finally roused me from my slumber the next morning. It was the soft and delicate voice of an angel. The same angel I heard every night in my dreams, a voice I would recognize anywhere. Her words hummed together into a soothing simple tone. I heard myself sigh softly, listening to the cooing tone. I smiled. That's about when my hearing kicked in.

"THE HELL ARE YOU SMILING ABOUT?! SCORPIUS MALFOY! YOU ARE SO FUCKING STUPID! I COULD MURDER YOU! Oh God… WAKE UP!" That last part was nicely accented by a shoe being thrown at the side of my head, hitting me solidly in the side of the temple and sufficiently angering old bruises. How classic, once a chaser, always a chaser. I groaned and grabbed my head, rolling onto my side and realizing with a jolt that that bed was half the size of my soft bed with its silk sheets at home. This fact would cost me bruises later as I rolled off the bed. I groaned again and I heard a snicker behind me.

"I'm awake, I'm awake…" I mumbled unconvincingly into the floor. And I was awarded with another shoe being thrown at full force into my shoulder. "Dammit Rose! I'm up!" I exclaimed, leaping to my feet and swaying slightly.

"And very hungover?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the unfinished bottle of firewhiskey I'd left on the nightstand.

"Yeah, yeah. But that's not what you're here to yell at me about, is it? However the hell you managed to find me here anyways…" I muttered.

"No. But I could certainly add that in." She said, sounding superior. "I'm here to yell at you about running away like a seven year old, the fact that the entire ministry is looking for you, the fact that you've got hardly a dime to your name, and… Well, now the firewhiskey, too." She finished.

"I would just like to point out that I didn't run away like a seven year old. I handled it very maturely. The way any 14 year old would, at least." She rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to complain, but I cut her off. "Is there any possible way you could skip the mutinous rage and just hug me and tell you all about how much you missed me?" I said, smiling cutely. I held out my arms and shrugged, Rose did what she wanted, and while God could move the earth and rock, I knew that Hell couldn't change her mind.

"Fine. You get off this time, on one condition." She said winking and smiling deviously. I sighed. That could never be good.

"Shoot."

"You have to share." I looked at her curiously for a moment before she ducked under my outstretched arms and plucked the bottle of firewhiskey up off my nightstand.

"Oh, hell no. I am not doing that again. Plus, you're not legal yet." She pouted, but didn't put down the bottle. She held it up to her mouth and swallowed, once, twice, three times. I looked at her crookedly. "Did I miss the part in your life where you learned to drink like that?" She smiled back.

"I've had boyfriends. I've gone out. I've done terrible things." She winked again and I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, I was there for the "terrible things" part, you idiot." She laughed and grabbed my arm, yanking me onto the tiny bed.

"Hey Scorp," She leaned her shoulder against the wall at the head of the bed and I put my arm around the small of her back. "Have you ever kissed a girl?"

"Of course I have. A couple, actually." I lied, trying to make it sound good. The only girls I'd ever kissed was Roxanne Weasley, when I was a third year and she slammed her sticky first year mouth onto mine without the slightest warning. I had untangled myself from her awkward embrace and ran off, feeling the back of my neck burn bright red. And the time in my sixth year when I had experimented with Scarlett Bell. Her mouth had been warm and soft and I remember twisting my fingers into her dark brown hair. It was enjoyable, I suppose. Eventually I had broken off the kiss with her as the guilt burning in my throat had gotten to be too much. I hadn't been able to stop comparing the girl to Rose. Over and over I had found myself wishing that her lips were the slightest bit rounder, like Rose's. Or that the hands roving my sweaty skin could be just the smallest bit softer. It had been an experiment, more than anything. I had wanted to know if there was any way I could love another girl the way I knew I loved Rose. Scarlett was considered a top-notch catch in my year. Hooking up with her was the highlight of any guy's life. She was even sorta funny and smart enough. Only, it wasn't enough. If it wasn't Rose, it was never enough. That much I had learned. I was beginning to relive the suffocating guilt when Rose handed me the bottle. "And… What exactly would you like me to do with this, oh genius one?" I asked, trying to regain my composure.

"Take a shot, Malfoy. It's a game you idiot."

"Have I mentioned that I'm an adult, and I do not associate with young children that play games?" I said, failing miserably at my attempt to sound serious.

"So. You're telling me that you've never kissed a girl because you're a pussy, and you're also refusing to take a shot… Because… You're a pussy?" I swigged the bottle, shivering as it went down. She smiled. "Lovely, now ask me."

"Am I allowed to ask how many guys you've hooked up with?"

"Nope. That's cheating. Traditionally when you play the game "Have you ever…" the questions start with "have you ever". But why don't we just change the old-as-time rules for you because you're Scorpius Malfoy and you said so."

"Lovely. So, Rose. How many guys have you hooked up with?" I grinned crookedly and she tossed her red hair back and exhaled.

"Hmm… So many, I can't seem to remember." She laughed softly, deep in thought. Her words were like needles, pricking holes in my heart. I breathed deeply and tried to ignore the feeling.

"Alright then. We'll do it your way. Have you hooked up with more than five guys?" I asked, trying to sound nonchalant. Trying to sound like I didn't care.

"Yessir. I think. Wait…" She lifted up a hand and counted. "Yes, I have. Give me that." She took the bottle from my loose grip and took a large swallow.

"Damn, Rose. Remember that part about the whole Ministry looking for me, and that I've hardly got a dime to my name? Yeah… Does it seem anti-productive to lie in the bed of a well-known pub and get drunk to you? Or is it just me?" I asked.

"You're ruining my fun. No one knows you're here but me. I kinda sorta confounded Tom on my way in. It was just an accident. My hand slipped…" She made a slipping gesture with her hands and I shook my head at her.

"You're a nightmare." I said, rolling my eyes. "And how exactly did you find me?"

"Well. There was that one time when we were 12, and you told me that you were gonna run away and hide in The Leaky Cauldron. So… I just guessed. I took off as soon as I read the Daily Prophet. You made the cover. And you look like shit." She smiled again.

"I really could have done without that last part, but I'm glad you're here." I hugged her closely enough that I could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Hey Scorp. Have you ever been in love?" I drew in a sharp breath and was suddenly conscious of how close my body was to Rose's. Her head was leaned softly on my chest and her arms were draped around me. Her petite frame was curled up next to me, breathing softly. The way a couple might lay. My arm was still draped around her back, but I pulled it away. I slipped out from under her and stood up. She pulled herself into a sitting position and looked at me thoughtfully. I couldn't bear her eyes on me, so I turned around, facing the door.

"Yeah Rosie. I have." I heard her feet softly thud into the floor as she got up. They padded softly on the worn wood until they stopped behind me. Her arms wrapped themselves around me from behind and I could hear her sigh.

"Me too." She breathed, and my heart sank to lower than my stomach. It made itself at home in the pit of my gut, writhing and twisting in pain. I inhaled in an attempt to relieve some of the pain, but it stubbornly stuck there. I felt her let go of me, and we stood awkwardly together for a few moments before we heard the radio click on.

_EMERGENCY ALERTS: A young man about the age of 17 has recently vanished. His family is offering a very substantial reward for the location of this man. Our last traces found him staying at the Leaky Cauldron, but we have yet to investigate this rumor. If you have any information about the whereabouts of Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy, please contact the Ministry of Magic._

The radio clicked off. "Oh hell… How did you get here?" I asked suddenly, already knowing the answer.

"By broom… But I don't think…" She trailed off, watching me as I threw things into my backpack.

"Rose, make my hair orange. If anyone asks, I'm Hugo, okay?" I knew that Hugo was two years younger than me and as small as Rose, but it would have to do for now. She grinned and pulled out her wand, flicking it up then down and mumbling a spell under her breath. When she was finished, she laughed. I glanced in the mirror and flinched. You could say red wasn't my color. But I did my best to toss my feelings aside and I grabbed Rose's hand.

"Let's go." We flew down the stairs. The alcohol in our blood made us slightly off balance and we twisted and turned as we went down. We passed the bar and I turned my face away from Tom, who was still cleaning his counter. I sent Rose outside to get her broom and I went to the back to tap out the pattern that would let me into Diagon Alley. She came running in and I pulled her through the doorway with me. On the other side I took the broom from her and mounted. She looked at me for a moment before her softly innocent face broke into a wicked grin.

"If you say so, Malfoy." She hopped on behind me and we took off into the late August air. "I'd say friends don't let friends drive drunk, but instead I'll just say friends don't let friends do stupid things… Alone." Her laughter pealed softly through the warm air and the lump in my gut wriggled in agony again, but I stuffed it away, ignoring it. I wanted to fly so long that I never knew if I was coming down, so I did.

**So... Any guesses on how Scorpius could possibly get back into Hogwarts without being busted now? I bet he can think of a way. Especially with one of Hell's Angels by his side;) **

**Review please:) And read the next chapter to see how being a fugitive works for him.. Oh. So his father's abusive, the law is looking for him, and did he mention that he's uncontrollably in love with his best friend? Lets see how it works out!:) Dont forget to leave reviews.**


	5. Crash

I grinned heartily as the wind blew through my hair. At first I flew strongly, my experience taking the lead. I soared higher and higher, dipping and spinning through the air like a pro. Then the alcohol began to take over. My grip slipped on the handle of the broom and we dipped sharply before I regained control, shaking my head to try and clear the blurriness from my vision. The sky and landscape before me twisted and deformed and I swerved violently again.

"Whoa, careful. Are you doing alright?" Rose's voice dipped uncertainly behind me, and I couldn't tell if it was the alcohol in my blood, or in hers, but it wavered and sounded oddly distorted. I knew we needed to land, but I couldn't tell where the ground was anymore. I tried to land, but my legs flailed helplessly in empty air. Then I felt the broom handle disappear from my grip and I was suddenly plummeting to the spinning ground alongside Rose. I heard myself thud into the ground, but felt no pain. My last thought before unconsciousness consumed was that at least there was that upside to being terribly drunk. Then everything went black.

* * *

I woke up with my head pounding. I squinted into the sun as I lay in the grass. Grass. That couldn't have been too terrible to land on. I slowly pulled myself up on to my elbows and groaned. Bruises, definitely, but I was pretty sure nothing was broken. My ankle was aching painfully and I groaned. I was entirely wrapped up in my own problems when a single thought burned like fire into my mind. _Rose._

I sat up quickly, causing my head to spin violently, but I ignored it and looked around frantically for Rose. I recognized her fiery hair a couple yards away from me. I crawled over to her as quickly as I could and turned her over. A large purple bump protruded from her pale forehead and her eyes were closed. I grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her softly, begging her silently to wake up.

"Please, Rose. Wakeup. You can't leave me like this. Please…" I pleaded softly. Suddenly, her eye lids lifted just the slightest bit and she moaned. "Rose?" I asked, barely allowing myself to breathe.

"Daniel?" She groaned softly. "Daniel, I'm here. It hurts." I dropped her from my grasp and sat back. _Daniel?_ Suddenly, there wasn't enough air in my heart pounded terrifyingly hard in my chest, bruising itself. I gasped, feeling like it would explode.

"Rose, it's me, Scorpius. I'm here." I waited a painful minute before her eyelids fluttered open fully and she made eye contact with me.

"Oh hey, Scorp. Best. Flight. EVER." She tried to grin, but the effort was too much. She rolled over and inhaled sharply. Her arm was bent slightly wrong and she cradled it gingerly as she sat up. She looked at me, "Scorp?" My breath still hadn't returned, but she seemed unaware that she had spoken while halfway unconscious. I nodded, doing my best to act natural.

I pulled out my wand and pointed it at her twisted arm. "Brackium Emendo." I said clearly, swishing my wand. She screwed her eyes shut for a moment and held her breath, then she softly exhaled, opening them. She slowly extended her arm.

"Sore, but fixed, thanks." She attempted another grin but only managed a grimace. "I'm experiencing some severe déjà vu here." She said.

I tilted my head at her, "Ahh, because of that other time you and I fled from the Leaky Cauldron drunk and crashed your broomstick on a grassy hill? I remember that. Good times." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh shutup. I mean because of that time I was hit in the head with a bludger. Because all I remember is flying, then waking up next to you with a badass headache." I laughed. "Speaking of which, wheres my broom?" We both looked around and saw it at the same time, lying in a bile of splintered and cracked wood that used to be the handle. She looked away as if it was painful to look at, and I didn't blame her. She'd had that broom since she was 13. It had been a birthday present from Albus.

"I'm so sorry Rose, I..." She shook her head, and I knew she didn't wanna talk about it, so I changed the subject.

"How's your head?"

"How's yours?" She shot back.

I glared at her. "I hate it when you answer a question with a question. Plus, I asked you first." She laughed.

"No you don't. You think it's charming." She winked.

"Fine. Mine's just great. But I'm not the one with a giant goose egg on my forehead." She raised her good arm up to her head and gingerly probed the bump, wincing periodically.

"Ankle?" She pressed, being terribly stubborn.

"How did you..?" I left the question hanging heavily in the air.

"I dunno… Somehow through 7 years of knowing you, you've never favored your right leg. I didn't know it was a habit of yours." I would have punched her if she didn't look so fragile.

"Okay, fine. It hurts like hell. Now how the hell do you feel?"

"I'm fine… I" She started to say something else, but suddenly twisted over and vomited onto the grass. I instinctively grabbed her hair from behind and held it up until her stomach stopped heaving. She groaned. "Just pretend you never saw that." I laughed.

"So I suppose the firewhiskey didn't sit well with you?"

Her eyes shot daggers at me. "And why aren't you vomiting?"

"Because I am a man, and men are not reduced to their knees by mere alcohol." I said regally, holding my chin high and turning up my nose. She swatted at me and I dodged.

"Shut up. And help me up." I stood up slowly, careful to put as little weight as possible on my ankle. Then I reached down and pulled Rose out of her sitting position. We looked down from the hill we were on and saw the cluster of small shops that made up Diagon Alley. I estimated that it was about a miles walk. No biggie. No biggie when you're in perfectly good shape, I suppose. I took a step down the hill and felt my ankle give out from under me as I pitched forward, eating grass. I pushed myself up, dusting off my jeans as howls of laughter resonated from behind me.

"Thanks for the support, Weasley." She snickered again.

"Fine, if you want support, let me bind your ankle." She insisted, gesturing with her wand. I dipped my head in agreement, figuring we'd never make it if I was crippled. "Alligaveritis Talus" She murmured, flicking her wand and conjuring bandages that wound themselves around my ankle. The pain eased slightly, and I found that I could put weight on it.

"Thanks." I muttered, feeling the back of my neck burn. "To Diagon Alley." I stuck out on of my elbows.

"To Diagon Alley." She agreed, linking our arms together. We set off down the grassy knoll together, arm-in-arm. "I do love an adventure." She said, smiling and letting go of my arm to skip ahead. She spun around, her hair burning like fire as it spread out around her. Her eyes gleamed sharply in the sunlight like chips of amber. I couldn't help but grin. There was times when I didn't know why I tortured myself over her. Times when I wondered if I could live another day watching her be happy without me. Another day of being so close, yet so far away from having everything I could ever dream of wanting. But it was times like these that reminded me why I stayed. Why I would always love her. I would never leave her side, because she would be the only girl I would ever love. And I couldn't give that up without losing half of myself with it.

"Then you're going to love this next part." I said, and she stopped spinning, letting her scarlet hair fall softly back onto her shoulders. Her eyes glittered with the thrill of a mystery.

"Do tell." She said eagerly.

"Did you ever wonder why my father, who has hated every bone in my body since the day I was born, is currently tearing up London looking for me? One might think he'd be glad to get rid of his failure of a son that runs around with Weasleys and Potters. But no, now that I'm gone, he's realizing just how much he misses me as a son, and that he made a mistake by not raising me with the kindness and love I deserved, so he'll do anything to get me back."

"I did think it was kind of odd, but parents do what they have to for their kids." She said, shrugging her shoulders, and I watched as a couple strands of hair slipped off.

"Except he isn't a father. He's a monster." I snapped, instantly regretting it. "Sorry… But he isn't looking for me. He doesn't give a shit about me. He never has." I reached down and pulled up the right leg of my jeans. I pushed down my black sock and pulled a small brass key out of its hiding place. "He's looking for this."

Rose stifled a gasp and I felt my mouth stretch into a grin. I'd been told a million times that I was a carbon copy of my father, something I always regretted. I had the signature sharp Malfoy features, tainted with haughtiness and arrogance, but I had done my best to soften them beyond recognition. My father had aged well, and I was often mistaken for him. For the first time in my life, I was ready to take advantage of my family heritage.

"Remember when you said I didn't have a dime to my name? I don't… But my father has a fortune that's as good as mine now. Rose, we're gonna break into Gringotts. I mean… I am, you can leave if you want. I know it's dangerous… And stupid, but…" I broke off as Rose bounded up to me and threw her arms around my neck. I could smell her vanilla perfume mixed with something slightly spicy.

"Leave you? Like Hell. Let's go rob a bank."

**Sorry there was nothing too exciting in this... Except DANIEL?!**

**Plus, DANIEL?! Ooh. Some shit's gonna go down! :D **

**Also, DANIEL?! **

**Oh, and a leave your description of Daniel in the reviews, and I might use your Daniel in the story!:) Because, oh yes, I'll spoil it, there will be some Daniel action. **

**Leave reviews like always, stay tuned for the exciting stuff;)**


	6. A Pounding Dance

**Gcoolio, I liked your idea about Daniel being her healer, but love triangles are my signature. You are very creative though.. I kinda wish that was my idea. But, still, there will be some Daniel action.**

After about 45 minutes of me and Rose dragging ourselves ungracefully down the hillside, we stopped behind a small timeworn shop somewhere in the middle of the street, breathing hard. I leaned up against the cool adobe of the store and closed my eyes, pulling my shirt up to wipe the sweat from my forehead. My ankle ached dully like the burnt sun in the sky. For London, that day was as hot as hell. I heard Rose thud softly into the ground next to me and I looked down at her, crouched against the wall, stray strands of dark scarlet hair plastered to her face with sweat. Her eyes were wide and her pupils dilated. There was no way she had gotten away without a concussion But no matter how many times I offered to take her to St. Mungos, she continued to shake her head and insist that we keep walking. Stubborn bitch, but I loved her to hell and back.

"So, what's phase two?" She asked softly, her smartass side still ringing though strong even in her muted tone. I chuckled.

"Phase two?"

"Well yes, I assumed phase one was crashing my broomstick into a hill, then hiking down to Diagon Alley and collapsing next to a robe shop. Was that not your plan?" She looked up at me crookedly, hiding a smile behind her darkened eyes.

"Robe shop?" She nodded. I turned around, and sure enough we were behind Madam Malkin's Robe shop. Truthfully, I had no phase two, but as I stood there, a plan began to form in my head. "Well. Now that my plan has successfully led us here, we must purchase clean robes to appear prestigious and snotty. After that, we will proceed to phase three: casually rob the most protected bank in the wizarding world. Are you in?" With quite a bit of effort, Rose pulled herself to her feet, and smiled, looking weathered, but undeniably eager. Her hair frizzed and crazy, her eyes glinting furiously, she looked beautiful.

"Always." She said, grabbing my hand and pulling me around the building. We stepped carefully over piles of trash until we came across a chain link fence. How classic. You couldn't be a real fugitive without having to climb a fence or two. Rose hoisted herself up easily, dropping softly onto the cobblestone on the other side; I followed her clumsily, slipping twice. I jumped after her and landed awkwardly, twisting my ankle more. I groaned loudly, cursing under my breath, but I pulled myself to my feet, leaning heavily to one side. Rose looked at me thoughtfully for a second.

"Hmm. Hey Scorp? Before you go into a prestigious robe shop and pretend to be your father, I just want you to know, you look like absolute shit." She said.

"Thanks for the sugarcoating there, Rosie." But I had to admit she was right. I looked down at my jeans and sighed at the sight of the tears and grass stains coloring them. Rose's face was smeared with dirt, and her red curls decorated with a wreath of twigs and leaves. "What do you suggest?"

She shrugged. "A bath?"

"This is London, Rose, not Rome. We don't have hundreds of public bath houses littering the streets." I said.

"Well, a lavatory would do, come on." She took my hand and pulled me down the street. "Keep your head down." I did a she said, tilting my head forward, and walking quickly besides Rose as she yanked me along. I thought we'd never stop when she suddenly yanked me into a dark club, reeking with the strong scent of alcohol and sweat. Music pounded heavily in my eardrums as Rose pulled me through the tight knit mob of bodies radiating heat, and it wasn't long before I was sweating too. The sweat in my hand caused Rose's small fingers to slip from my grasp, and suddenly I was being handled by a tall girl, her body snaking up and down next to mine. Her hands had long pale fingers the she entwined into my hair, pulling my face down to hers. I realized what was happening just a second too late, and suddenly, I was kissing her. The hot sticky lips of this strange girl stayed forcefully pressed against mine, and her tongue twirled into my mouth, warm and wet. I felt her teeth close softly around my lip, and I started kissing her back. All of a sudden, I couldn't imagine anything more beautiful. The way her silver hair bounced under the club lights was mesmerizing. I pressed her body against mine, enjoying the way her breasts pressed tightly against my chest. Suddenly, I was dancing with her. My body swayed next to hers, our contact never breaking. I felt her hand slip down to my belt loops and pull me against her. I groaned, grinding my body against hers. She grabbed onto the button that was fastening my jeans shut, and unhooked it. Just as her hand slipped into my pants, I felt a hand on my arm, pulling me away.

"No…" I moaned, trying to pull back. The hand tightened its grip, and I was slowly pulled away from the dancing girl, her blue eyes glinting hungrily after me. "Let me go back." I begged, but my pleas were ignored, and I continued to be pulled though the pulsing crowd. I felt myself being yanked through a doorway, and as we continued down a dimly lit hallway, the pounding music started to fade. The air was stale, but cool, and my senses started coming back to me. I started breathing steadily, and I looked down to see a fiery tangle of hair pulling me forward. I couldn't remember who it was, but the curls seemed somehow familiar. It came to me all in a rush. I was here with Rose, the love of my life. As we worked our way down the hallway, we passed couples doing unspeakable things in dark corners, and I shuddered. That had almost been me. Rose turned sharply into a low doorway, not being especially careful with me. I looked up to see that she had found her way to the bathroom while I had been busy trying to lose my virginity with a girl I didn't know. She threw my arm down and whirled around, facing me. I hung my head as her rage exploded around me.

"A VEELA?! You had to go and make a complete blundering prat of yourself over a veela?! God Malfoy! Why the hell should I help you if you can't even keep your dick in your pants for 30 seconds?! Fuck you. I had to come back and get you, because you can't handle yourself around one slutty whore. I let go of your hand for 10 seconds, dammit!" She yelled. I shuffled my feet back and forth, feeling honestly ashamed.

"Sorry…" I mumbled, feeling like an idiot.

She reached out her hand and brought it flat across my face, and it made contact with a resounding _SMACK_! "You damn well oughta be, you ass." She glared furiously at me, and I cringed like a little kid. Damn, she scared the hell out of me. Not that I didn't deserve it, but still. "I'm going to the girls' loo; you stay here and clean yourself up." She then turned on her heel and stomped out. I stood there blankly for a moment, and then turned to a mirror in order to examine the damage.

I did look bad. My hair was rustled and tangled, and my cheeks, one of them bright red, were smeared with dirt. The three buttons on the top of my shirt were missing and the snap on my jeans was still unfastened. Fuck. I looked like I'd had sex with 8 girls, made out with four, and just teased with two. I angrily turned the water on and splashed water onto my face, scrubbing roughly at the dirt. It came off clean, and I pulled my backpack off my shoulders and opened it. I pulled out the robes I brought and quickly shrugged off my pants and shirt, slipping the clean black robes over my head. I brushed out the wrinkles out and sighed. I suppose I looked presentable, but I still felt sticky and dirty from the hot grasp of that girls hands on my body. They came down to my ankles, and I yanked on them to try to elongate their length, but to no avail. I pushed the red hair out of my eyes, it was longer than my fathers, but it would have to do. I had a five o'clock shadow hanging under my mouth, making me look older. I stood up straight and stared blankly into the mirror. I had to admit, that as much as I hated it, my father's icy cold gaze was staring back at me. I was staring into the mirror with a kind of bitter nostalgia when the door clanged open.

Rose walked in, still wearing her grass stained jeans and wrinkled top, but her hair had been combed out and it now fell into soft ringlets on her shoulders. She had smudged some sort of makeup onto the corners of her eyes and she gazed sexily in my direction.

"Stop staring, you idiot! Now, we go buy new robes." She held out her hand, and I took it, she pulled me out of the bathroom, ignoring the odd look we received from a man just walking in. She pulled out her wand and I held my hands above my head, worried she was still pissed. She rolled her eyes and flicked it. I felt a tingling on my scalp and shivered. I ran my fingers through my hair.

"Oh." I said, feeling my cheeks burn. She didn't respond, just grabbed my hand. We slipped out the back door, and around the corner. I stood up tall and walked with my back straight and eyes cold. We walked into Madam Malkin's Robes and began examining the price tags, I shivered. There went my savings. Me and Rose split up, me in the men's section, and her in the women's. I found a long black pair of shimmering dress robes that looked similar to a pair my father had. I slipped into the dressing room and tried them on. They fit well, highlighting my height and muscles. I pulled them off and folded them, yanking my old ones back on. I met Rose at the front of the store and we paid for the bundle, then we slipped to the back and put them on. When Rose walked out, I got a good luck at her robes. They were lighter than normal robes and made from an inky incandescent fabric that clung to her curves. She was wearing a pair of sexy black pumps, and she looked incredible.

"Have I mentioned that you should stop staring yet?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. I laughed and grabbed her hand again. We walked confidently down the street. Very few people looked in my direction, but when they did, they shied away. I scared people, I realized, with a jolt. I shuddered at the idea, but was distracted as me and Rose stopped at the stairs leading up to the large white building.

"Ready?" I asked, looking in her direction. She nodded.

"Ready." I squeezed her hand, and felt a comforting squeeze back. And we took the first step up the stairs that could leave to our success, or our demise.

**Well, there you have it for chapter six. I hope you enjoyed it:) There was a little drama and stuff. **

**But, NEXT! They rob a bank. **

**It'll be pretty awesome. Then Hogwarts and so on, so forth. Stay tuned:) **

**But, eventually, there will be no more Daniel, and no more hot veela girls, and it will just be RosexScorpius.**

**I promise. But you must read:) Leave reviews!****  
**

**Oh, and I almost forgot, there is a poll on my profile about whether I should write Scorpius' notebook (referenced in chapter 1) and have little drabbles about his experiences. i.e. the club, the train, Rose's eyes. Kinda like a diary, but not. So, please go vote on whether I should write this or not! Or, if you would read it!:)**


	7. All That Glitters Isn't Gold

**Pretty long chapter.. Sorry it took so long to update! Enjoy!:)**

Me and Rose slowly walked up the stairs, one at a time. As we passed the two outer guards, I lifted my arm to wave, but Rose yanked it down. The guards eyed us curiously, and I felt Rose's hot mouth by my ear as she hissed.

"You don't wave, you idiot. That's why when major badasses greet each other in movies, they don't say anything, they just nod. The nod means "I am a badass, and I recognize that you too, are a badass," but they don't say anything because they're Wolverine and Magneto, and it would mess up their vibe to explain."

I looked down at her, "Magneto?" She shook her head, and I chuckled softly. Rose's grandparents were muggles, and her mother had used all her knowledge to ensure that Rose was just as educated in muggles, as she was in wizards. But despite the endless nights Rose and I had spent lying side by side as she told me stories of elevators and superheroes and Prince Charmings, my knowledge had always been more limited than hers. Rose was an incredible storyteller. She'd lift her arms and sweep them across the sky, her tone dipping and bending, twisting the words into a golden fantasy. I'd always wanted to live in one of Rose's stories, to sweep her off her feet and carry her away into our happily ever after. I'd be her Spiderman, and she'd be my Mary Jane. Whenever I'd tell Rose that, she'd shiver and smack me. 'You know I hate spiders, you arse.' And then she'd laugh, and keep telling her story.

I was snapped out of my thoughts as we stepped into the cool and regulated air of the bank. It smelled like money and arrogance. The essence of asshole was hanging heavily in the air. I resisted the urge to hold my breath. I walked slowly up to the first desk, standing tall. My father's vault was undoubtedly full, but low security. No one trusted him. All his association with Voldemort had forced him into separation from his own kind. After his parents died, he almost killed himself out of grief and regret. My mother saved his life, I guess. Love does that. It can create a new life, or kill an old one. I knew that first hand. I looked down at Rose and thought of my father again.

"Not much of a life to live for." I mumbled to myself.

"What?" She asked, looking up at me questioningly. I shook my head and dipped my head towards the goblin looking expectantly at the pair of us.

"I'd like to get into my vault, Uliaoth" I said, my voice ringing out deep and commanding. The goblin looked at me for a moment.

"Of course Mr. Malfoy, do you have your key?" I nodded, already forgetting not to hold my breath. I stretched my hand into my pocket and closed my long fingers around the small brass key. I let it drop onto the goblin's outstretched wrinkled palm. He looked at it, lifting it up and turning it in the sunlight streaming from the windows. He nodded, and turned to beckon another goblin towards him. His colleague walked up to him slowly and they two exchanged a low conversation in Gobbledegook. It sounded like gibberish to me, but Rose rose up onto her toes and explained to me in a soft tone.

"Uliaoth is going blind. He thinks you're your father, but the other one doubts it. Uliaoth insists he would recognize you anywhere."

Uliaoth seemed to have won his argument, because the other goblin grudgingly stepped out from behind the counter and gestured for us to follow behind him. We walked slowly behind him, slipping through the dark doorway at the end of the hall. He called a cart and it rolled up painfully slow. He held out his hand to help Rose in, and she stepped in daintily, squeezing herself against the edge of the cart. The goblin then held out his hand again, I reached out to take it, knowing the rock was slippery, but my fingers closed on empty air as he snatched his arm back. I wobbled, taking a large step forward and slipping. I fell onto the cold rock, landing solidly on my arse. The goblin laughed loudly, a deep and gruff sound emanating from somewhere deep inside his chest. I heard Rose snickering and sent her a death glare before scrambling to my feet.

"Help yourself in, beautiful." He sneered at me, and I quickly stepped into the cart, taking a seat next to Rose.

The goblin followed me quickly, starting the cart, and sending us careening haphazardly down the track. My stomach flipped itself into intricate knots as we flew along. I could have sworn I saw him turn around a few times to send a satisfied smirk my way. I could imagine the exact pale green shade my face was at that moment, and it wasn't pretty. But the ride seemed to be having the opposite effect on Rose. Her hands were hanging out the sides of the cart, and she was laughing loudly like a manic. Her eyes sparkled brightly as we flew along the dark tunnels. We could have been at Disneyland for all Rose cared. A glowing smile was pasted to her cheeks, making her look infinitely younger. Suddenly, I was reminded of the first train ride I ever took with Rose. The day I fell in love. I felt something twist inside again, but it wasn't because of the ride this time. I suddenly felt the overwhelming urge to cry, maybe it was the wind, but something told me it was something else causing the burning sensation starting to spread across my eyes. I quickly brought the back of my hand across them, wiping them dry.

Suddenly, the cart came to a jarring stop and I was tossed forward into the front of the cart. I groaned inwardly as laughter rang out behind me. _Damn_, _Scorpius. Smooth._ I stood up quickly and followed the two of them out of the cart. We walked in silence for a few minutes, until we came to the large vault that was my father's.

The goblin pulled the key out of the folds of the grey suit he was wearing and carefully inspected the wall. He flipped up the small cover over the keyhole and inserted it, turning it sharply with a snap. He leaned forward and muttered something, and the inner locks on the door began clicking open. A door outlined itself in the soft stone, and the goblin reached out and pulled it open. I felt Rose tense up behind me as piles of gold coins were revealed behind the door.

"Here you are, Mr. Malfoy." The goblin bowed mockingly, gesturing with his long gnarled fingers. I felt Rose's small hand slip into mine and I pulled her forward. We grabbed handfuls of coins off the floor, tossing them into my backpack. I had crammed all that had fit, and my father still had a fortune to him. _Selfish ass._ I thought bitterly, glaring at the remaining pile. I turned quickly on my heel, stomping out of the room. Rose stopped mid-handful and scrambled to her feet. She slipped on a loose galleon and fell to her knees on the rough rocky floor. She moaned under her breath, her face going red. She quickly pulled herself to feet, and I snickered.

"Put a sock in it, Malfoy." She growled. I shrugged, then noticed the growing scarlet spots on her jeans.

"Whoa. Rosie, that looks like it hurts." I said.

"Yeah, just a little, genius. Isn't this the part where you start tearing strips off your clothes to bind my wounds?"

"You know, if you wanted me to take my clothes off, you could have just asked." I responded, but I unbuttoned my robe and tore off two ribbons of fabric from my grey t-shirt anyways. She rolled up her jeans and I wrapped the strips around the large gashes on each one of her knees. She winced, biting down on her lip hard. I finished tying the knot around her right knee. Then I kissed my hand and pressed it softly to her wounds. Then I stood up and winked at her. She chuckled, pulling her jeans back down to her ankles.

"Touching. I'll have to tell your wife you want a divorce. Your son will be devastated, he's the spitting image of you, did you know that?" He asked, cruelly, his voice spitting the words in my face. "Give your father my condolences, Scorpius." I froze, my muscle icing up midstep. "It must be devastating to know that your son is nothing better than a thief. How disappointing." His voice cut through the chilly air like a knife. I felt like choking. Memories began to pull themselves to the surface, the pain, the fear, and the humiliation. I couldn't move. My feet were frozen to the spot. Opened my mouth, but no sound came out. The goblin stepped slowly towards an alarm, but I had no power to stop him. He flipped a switch, and a piercing tolling rang out through the air. Then a red flash came from behind me, and I heard Rose call out.

"Stupefy!" The goblin toppled over, and Rose darted forward to bend over the goblin for a moment. Then I felt a warm hand on my arm. "Come on." She hissed, and I felt myself yanked forward, suddenly we were running through the slippery dark tunnels. We came to the cart, the siren still blaring incessantly. We hopped onto the cart and Rose took ahold of the lever, gripping it tightly.

"Do you know how to work it?!" I yelled over the obnoxious noise.

"Hell no! Hold on!" She screamed back, yanking the lever backwards, and off we zoomed. We flew around corners. A large gate was closing in front of us, but Rose pulled with all her weight on the lever, and we barely squeezed threw in time. But as we rounded the next turn, a loud cracking sound resounded through the cavern as the handle snapped away from the cart and tumbled down into infinite darkness. "Shit!" She yelled, falling back into my lap. The cart flew forward ever faster, and we rattled furiously towards the end of the track. Rose buried her face into my shoulder and I felt her muffled screams against my skin. I held her tight and closed my eyes as the cart made contact with the wall, crashing through the bricks. I felt bits of stone hit me as me and Rose were thrown into the air. Rose slipped from my grasp somewhere in the dusty air filled with flying rubble, and the last thing I remember, was the siren going quiet, before I slammed into the ground and felt a stabbing pain in my head. Then everything went dark.

I woke up as I felt my shoulders being shaken. A blurry red mass lingered over my head, and the pains in my head began to come back.

"Scorp? Sorpius? Please wake up. Please…" Then I felt a warm and wet press on my mouth, soft and gentle, tasting slightly salty on my open mouth. Then it pulled away. I moaned, feeling empty without it. I yanked my eyes, open, to see Rose looking down at me, her face red and tear streaked.

"Rose?" I asked, my voice coming out hoarse. "Did you..?" I didn't finish.

"Yeah… I was so afraid you weren't gonna wake up. I didn't know what I was gonna do…" She finished softly, her hazel eyes wide. I pulled myself onto my elbows, but a piercing pain laced up my right side, and I collapsed, moaning.

"Where are we?" I asked, trying to change the subject. Rose looked up at the dim room we were in.

"Some kind of back store room, I guess. The alarm central is here, and when we crashed, we deactivated it."

"Is there any way out?" I asked, trying to look around.

"A door, but it leads to behind the counter." I don't know if we can get out. "Then there's that ladder, and I think it leads to the roof." She gestured to the corner of the room, where a rickety steel ladder stood.

"Are you hurt?" I asked, trying to examine her from my awkward position.

"My head… But it's fine." She insisted.

"Again?" I asked, worried. "You're gonna have some serious head problems, now let's get to the roof." I pulled myself up again, my breathing heavy and labored. I finally got to my feet, my ribs burning with pain. I tried inhaling, but coughed, gasping and choking on the agony ripping up my side.

"You got this, we gotta go now." She looked almost apologetic as she took my arm and pulled me along. She went up the ladder first, and I followed. I don't know how I made it up that trip, the agony blinded me, but somehow the memory of Rose's hot lips against mine kept me going. I didn't know what it meant, but I was willing to suffer throught his to find out. I was suddenly rbought back to the first day I rode my broom with her, the way we soared through the air together. The way I tumbled head first into the ground, and in love with her.

Suddenly, I was on the roof, standing next to Rose. We looked out onto Diagon Alley, the city bright and smiling. I didn't know what Rose was thinking, but as always, she had a plan.

"Scorpius, if I ask you to do something incredibly stupid with me, will you do it?" She asked breathlessly. I could barely nod, but I did. I would do anything for her.

"Yes." I breathed. And she reached out to grab my hand, then a second later, I was squished into the impossibly small black tube, the pain in my side intensifying until it became almost unbearable. Then I dropped into unconsciousness.

**How did you like it?! Guesses as to how it will turn out?! Leave reviews:) And go vote on my poll.. Vote vote vote:)**

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	8. Finding Home

**So so so so so so so sorry this took so long to update! I honestly promise that I haven't given up on this story, and while my updates might take longer, KEEP FAITH. I dont love this chapter, but tell me how you like it, because that honestly consistently motivates me to keep writing. Thanks for everything:) Here's chapter 8.**

I saw a strong flash of light before I suddenly plummeted into something ice cold. My cracked ribs screamed in agony as my lungs couldn't find solid air to breath. I felt ice crashing down my throat and I began choking on it. I flailed helplessly in the frigid darkness, but could find nothing to hang onto. My heart felt as if a freezing cold wire was wrapping itself around it and slowly squeezing the life out of every beat. Then everything began to go numb. I stopped needing air. Everything began to stop hurting, and even the pain in my ribs was fading. _It wouldn't be so terrible to die like this_, I thought softly, before everything blanked out.

Then it all came back. I could feel a prickling sensation of hot light on my eyelids. Then I was aware of the agony tearing up my right side. I tried to gasp, but my airway was still clogged, and it came out in a ragged gasp that burned my throat. I couldn't help it, a racking cough shook my body, causing my lungs to crash into the main source of my agony. My body hit the ground again like a rag doll and I heard myself groan. After a moment, I became suddenly aware of murmuring voices somewhere above my head. My mind was too muddled to tell, but I thought I heard Rose's voice mingled with others. Or was it just my imagination? I have no idea how much time passed before my pain bottomed out and the light went dark again.

When I woke again, I was lying in a soft bed. The mattress under me felt as if it was made of clouds, the pillow supporting my head was cool and fluffy, and the white sheets encasing me were soft and clean. It was all too comfortable and too white, it all felt wrong. I pulled my right arm out from under the comforter, and felt a much muffled groan of pain from my side. I pushed down the blanket to examine it, and found white bandages wrapping my bare torso. Curiously, I peeked down farther to check the status of my pants. I sighed. Of course, they were missing, but in their place was a pair of black cotton shorts. They fit well, considering they were stranger's pants.

I pulled myself up onto my elbows, causing my head to pound incessantly. I looked up at the scenery and took in a small and sparsely furnished room. The walls were a non-controversial cream color and they had a couple of classic guest room paintings on it: a seaside cottage, a sunny day, and a picture of a laughing woman with eyes like Rose's. The picture was motionless, and I wondered at this for a moment before my eyes roved over an occupied wicker chair sitting in the corner. The man sitting in it was obviously asleep. His scraggly red hair fell into his eyes, and his broad nose had its fair share of freckles dusting the bridge.

I watched in fascination as his chest rose and fell slowly while he slept. I had never met Rose's father before, only seen him from a distance. He shifted, and I suddenly shrank back into myself, hugging my arms around my chest. Every story I had ever heard about this man flew from my mind, and all I could think of was my father's cold laugh resounding loudly in my head. I shivered. My head started to pound loudly again as memory after memory hit me like a wave. I fell back onto my pillow and closed my eyes. It happened like this sometimes and I just had to close my eyes and pray for it to pass. And it did. The harsh flow of bloody images in my head slowly faded away as it always did. I was ready to open my eyes again when I heard the door open slowly.

"Ron?" I heard a soft voice ask. It was Rose's voice, only sweeter and older. It sounded somehow tired and gentle. I cracked an eye open and watched as a slender figure stood over the man, shaking his shoulders quietly. "Ron! Wake-up!" She ordered, and he finally stirred.

'Hmmrph? What's going on? Did he get away?" He asked sleepily. I flinched. _Get away? Was I a prisoner?_

"Oh shut it. We are not holding him here. The poor boy was drowning! Do you really think Rose would have brought him here if she didn't trust him with her life?"

"Well. You forgot to mention that SHE was drowning too." He mumbled angrily, crossing his arms. I wanted to laugh, he reminded me so much of Rose, but his words stopped me. _Was Rose okay?_ Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Yes, but Rose is FINE and she knows she can't apparate here. Has he woken?" She asked sincerely. She was doing a pretty good job of pretending to care. My mother wouldn't have put forth half the effort. I was suddenly hit by a strong pang of jealousy, but I forced it down into the pit of my stomach, where it wriggled uncomfortably.

"Um…" Ron stuttered awkwardly, obviously trying to think of a reason to excuse the fact that he was sleeping instead of watching me, the badass delinquent/innocent kid.

"Well. He needs to eat." She said firmly, and I heard her footsteps grow louder as she approached the bed I laid in. I felt gentle hands on my shoulders, and I flinched away. I opened my eyes to see a soft face looking down on me with wide worried eyes. "How are you feeling" She asked. "You messed up your ribs pretty badly. Care to tell me what you were doing?" I felt my eyes break contact with hers as I looked down in embarrassment. She shook her head, and a loose strand slipped onto her face. "I didn't think so. Rose won't tell me either. But come on, it's time for you to eat something. You're too skinny." I hadn't thought about it much recently, but I suppose I was hungry. I pushed onto my elbows again, and swung my legs out of bed. I stood weakly, noting that the pain in my ankle was gone. _Yay_. I thought sarcastically. _That fixes all my problems._ But I dutifully followed Hermione out of the room, down a spinning staircase and into an open living room.

"It's so… Bright." I said intelligently. _Whoo, Scorpius. Way to grab intellect points with the girl's parents. Smooth. _ But she laughed.

"After a while, a little light is nice." She said thoughtfully, as if masking a different meaning behind her words. She led me into a dining room with big windows instead of walls. Out the windows, I could see a beautiful view of a crystal clear lake. She pointed to a place at the table across from a scarlet haired boy who was very busy scribbling away at a picture. I tilted my head to look closer, and noted that he was quite good. I wanted to write about his art, and the way his light hand curved slightly to accommodate his pencil. The way his brown eyes screwed up in concentration when he…

"Why are you staring at me?" He demanded.

"I…" I struggled for words as the boy looked me up and down.

"Didn't your mama ever tell you that staring at people is rude? And why aren't you wearing a shirt?" He scrunched up his face at me, wrinkling his nose. "I know who you are. You're Rose's friend. She thinks…" But I didn't get to hear what Rose thought, because he stopped as his mother walked in, carrying an enormous platter of food.

"Hush, Hugo. Be polite to our guest." Hugo shrugged and began shoveling pancakes into his face. I laughed. It was like everywhere I looked, a piece of the girl I loved was lingering. Hermione set a large plate of food in front of me, and an incredible aroma wafted up to my nose. I had to exercise every ounce of strength I had to not do just as Hugo was currently doing. I was a teenage boy. We only have so much control.

"Mrs. Weasley?" I asked tentatively. "Is Rose doing... All right?"

"Oh she's fine… I think she's upstairs reading, actually. I should go fetch her." And with that, she hustled back up the stairs. I figured that if Rose was alright, I might as well eat. I finished my plate in minutes, and considering that Hugo had gone back to his drawing, he wasn't the best conversationalist. I stood up slowly, and paced. I was a nervous pacer, I had to admit. I noticed a familiar bag lying at the foot of the stairs, and I grabbed it. Empty. It was slightly damp, and my mind instantly flew to my books. Had they survived? Then I saw them sitting in a stack on a bureau next to my robes. I rushed to them and examined the damage. They looked fine to me, and exhaling, I tucked all my belongings back into my bag, along with the sack of money I had stolen from Gringotts. I put my notebook in last, tracing the words stamped into the leather cover: _Scorpius Malfoy_. I sat back down at the table and pushed the last pieces of bacon around my plate, then I heard two sets of footsteps coming down the stairs.

I stood up quickly and watched as Rose came down the stairs, with her mother following closely behind her. Rose's head was bandaged at an odd angle, but her red hair flamed out awkwardly from under it. She was beautiful. She smiled crookedly at me and then turned to her mother. "So… He doesn't have to wear a shirt at the table, but I do?" Her mother rolled her eyes.

"The trials of being a woman." Rose laughed, then skipped down the last stairs to hug me.

"So… Do you think..?" She asked, smiling deviously.

"No. I will never forgive you for that particular plan. Normally, when other people say 'stupid', it doesn't involve throwing me into a lake. Thanks for that one, Rosie." She laughed." I think you'll live." I shook my head at her as her father came down the stairs.

"Hey!" He announced rather awkwardly. "No... Uh... Contact! That is strict violation of PDA, and I will not have it in my house." He twisted his face into what seemed to be an attempt at something menacing, but looked more painful. Rose laughed again.

"Dad, it's just Scorpius."

Ouch. That one hurt a little.

"Yeah, well 'just Scorpius' is still a Malfoy, and…" There it was. The inevitable.

"Ron!" He received a slap on the shoulder from Hermione. "Be kind. He's just a child!" _Hey. 'Just a child' is actually 17, but that's cool. _I thought.

"That's it. Me and Scorpius are going outside. We'll be by the lake."

"Please don't do anything stupid, Rose. Take care of yourself." Her father asked. _Yeah, because I had proved myself to be really shitty in the 'taking good care of Rose' department._

"Me? Stupid? I'm only your daughter, dad." She said, winking at him and grabbing my arm. She pulled me outside, and once we were out of earshot, she laughed again. "My family… That's what I live with every day." I looked at her curiously in the sunshine, her hair resembling licking flames as she shifted in the light. I couldn't help but return her crooked grin.

"Well. I think they're brilliant."

**Kindasorta cute, huh?:) Im not really sure I portrayed Hermione and Ron quite right, and for all you Dramione fans, a little RonxHermione isnt what you want to read, but I ship them. Sooo. Whatever:)**

**I updated my first chapter of Scorpius' notebook, and that can be found on my profile, if you would like to read it!:)**

**Please leave reviews, and I will update as soon as I can. Never lose hope!:)**

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	9. Because I'm a Teenage Boy

**Sadly, because I've taken so long to upload recently, I have lost most of my faithful reviewers. *Sigh*. My fault, but sad all the same. But I hope that there's still plenty of you out there at least READING my stories, that would be nice. So.. If you'd like to take 7 seconds of your life to drop me a 2 or 3 word review, that would be nice:) Or not. Just keep reading for me. I just like to know what you think. Here's chapter 9, read and enjoy, my lovelies. **

She led me carefully down the grassy hill to the foot of the lake, jabbering constantly, but I didn't mind. My head still hurt, but I liked the sound of her voice. In that moment, it was like all had been momentarily forgiven… Wait. What was that?

"You KNEW we were going to land in a lake?!" I turned to her, feeling my eyebrows shoot up and throwing my hands into the air. "I don't know what I'm gonna do with you… Little psycho." I lifted my hand to punch her softly on the shoulder. She smiled cutely at me and skipped out of my grasp, laughing.

"Well… I was pretty sure. I just had to check." She winked.

"I hate you." I said, not feeling any real emotion behind my words.

"No. You love me! Care to wade with me?" She asked, her eyes sparkling with the thrill of what I could feel was another wicked idea brewing. I crossed my arms and turned up my nose at her.

"Me? Get in that lake again? Like hell! I don't even think I'm all the way dry yet. I hate water. I'm never swimming again." I said firmly. Looking back in her direction, I registered that she had disappeared. "Ro…?" Then a bucket of icy water cascaded onto the top of my head and started seeping down my back. I tore around to find Rose caught red handed with a black all-purpose bucket hanging from one hand as she used the other to hold her stomach as she bent over laughing.

"Oh… My… God… I can't believe…" She wheezed her words out as she tried to stop laughing. Her wild curls bounced brightly behind her as the sunlight filtered through each strand like dancing flames licking the top of her head. I could have stared at her for hours, dripping wet as she laughed, but instead, I opted for the more charming choice.

"You are going down, Weasley! We end this now!" She shrieked and dropped the pail as she took off running. I leapt over it and followed in hot pursuit. As fast as Rose was, my legs were like, twice as long as hers, so I caught up to her and entwined my arms around her waist. I pulled her up into the air as she laughed and kicked, yelling obscene words at the top of her lungs. I swung her around in my arms and held her close to me for the slightest second.

"You're an arse." She whispered softly in my ear. And I looked her in the eyes and whispered back,

"Love you, too." And I tossed her into the water. She landed with a splash, throwing droplets of water all over me. She popped up quickly, her hair, now a dark red dripping slowly. She glared furiously at me and I felt myself double over laughing. Deep chuckles emanated from my chest as she attempted to maintain her furious stare. Eventually, she gave up and waded out towards me. Within a minute she was laughing too and we stood there in the warm day and laughed like idiots. Just the two of us. Everything was good… For once it seemed to make sense.

That was about when Rose started taking off her clothes.

She pulled her tank top off and tossed it to the shore, and then she stepped out of her shorts. She stood in the sunlight in her lacy panties and black bra. I felt weird even thinking the word "panties". Note to self, avoid saying that, or... Thinking it, for that matter.

But, as a teenage boy, there was something I was allowed to think, and that was the fact that Rose was sexy as fuck. Which is a term teenage boys use to describe someone that's pretty much got it going on. And Rose did. Her full breasts were nicely filled out for her petite size, and her tummy was flat and pale. Her legs and ass were tightly toned from playing so much Quidditch, but nothing on her body compared to the view I got every day: the sight of her creamy face framed by her bright red curls. That, beat everything.

"We really need to work on this whole staring thing, Mr. 'I'm a teenage boy and can do whatever the hell I want.'."

"Wait… Which one of us just removed all of their clothes in front of Mr. 'I'm a teenage boy and can do whatever the hell I want'? Not me!" She laughed.

"You got me wet, you asshole. And look what you've done to my hair." She lifted up a dripping strand and examined it. I tilted my head and squinted, but couldn't notice any difference. "When this dries… It's gonna be frizzy as hell." She shook her head and I laughed. "Well... What's done is done." And she took off running towards the water again. I watched as she launched herself into the air and landed with a muffled splash into the water. She came back up and stuck a finger at me, bending it to beckon me towards her. "You're already wet, you pussy!" She called out tauntingly, and I rolled my eyes and started stripping down. Hey, Mr. Teenage Boy isn't perfect. I pulled my t-shirt and shorts off, stepping out into my boxers. Now there's a manly word: boxers. Well… Kinda. I followed Rose's footsteps towards the licking tongues of water. I glared at her as she giggled at me. "JUMP!"

So… What can I say? I jumped. I felt myself fly through the air for half a second before I splashed unceremoniously into the icy black water. I felt it close above my head, and I fought claustrophobically back to the top. I surfaced quickly, gasping for air, and Rose laughed. I swam to where my feet could graze the ground and began to laugh. I pulled my arms back and splashed Rose. She screeched and threw water back at me.

I could have gone on forever there with her. It seemed like we spent hours splashing around, until the sun began to fade away behind a hill and we became too cold to bear it. We sloshed out of the water uncoordinatedly, not used to being on solid ground yet. Our clothes had dried on the edge of the water, and we pulled them on, shivering violently. I absentmindedly pulled Rose under my arm and we walked up to the house as the glowing dusk set around us. She leaned her head onto my chest, and breathed softly. By the time we reached the top of the hill, it was entirely dark. We were back to the house quickly after that, and she pulled out from under me, pushing the door open. She lifted her finger to her lips, and I nodded. We slipped silently through the door and I followed her through the entry way. We walked slowly through the dining room, and my stomach grumbled loudly, suddenly reminding me of the fact that I hadn't eaten since breakfast that morning. Rose glared at me and I shrugged. She rolled her eyes and pulled me into the kitchen.

"Boys…" She muttered. She picked up her wand off the counter and flicked it. "Lumos." A glowing light filled the room, highlighting a gangly figure in the corner. He had his hands on his hips and he cocked his head to one side. I heard Rose groan from beside me. "Hugo! Go to bed." The boy shook his head.

"What were you guys doing?" He demanded, sounding uncannily like Rose.

"Nothing."

"If you don't tell me, I'm calling mom." The boy threatened. Rose groaned again.

"We went swimming, okay? Down in the lake." Hugo still looked unconvinced.

"Hugo! If you don't go to bed, I'll hex you into…" Rose didn't finish.

"MOM!" He called, his voice bouncing off the walls. I heard footsteps on the stairs and watched as Rose flashed Hugo an obscene gesture and he smiled angelically back at her. Mrs. Weasley came down the stair, her hair frizzing in all different directions. Hugo looked at his mother and pouted quite authentically. "Rose was being mean to me." He said, hanging his head.

Rose rolled her eyes. "You can't buy that! He's 15!" Hugo looked up just long enough to shoot a murderous glare in Rose's direction.

"Do you two ever stop?" Mrs. Weasley asked, out glaring both of them.

"He/She started it." I heard in unison. She rolled her eyes, and looked at me.

"Oh. Hello dear, are you hungry?" I started to shake my head, but my stomach chose then to growl in that charming way it has. "Then we'll have to get some food in you." She then busied herself around the kitchen, and within minutes, a gorgeous aroma filled the air. I inhaled deeply, and Rose pulled me out of the kitchen and into the dining room.

"Teacher's pet." She said, punching my arm.

"Whatever, oh smooth one, way to get caught."

"Well, it's not like we DID anything. It didn't mean anything. We were just hanging out."

Ouch.

I shrugged, looking away. We were silent for a moment, then Rose's mom bustled into the room, setting a steaming bowl of soup in front of me, and one in front of Rose. We both dug in, and I can't remember anything tasting better. I was done quickly, and the hot soup in my stomach made me feel warm and sleepy. I yawned.

"Bed?" Rose asked, and I nodded. "Goodnight, mom. Thanks for dinner." She called out.

I heard a muffled "Mhmm!" From the kitchen, and Rose took my hand, pulling me up the staircase. She let go of my hand as she let me slip into my room, and she continued down to hers.

I pulled off my shirt and slipped into the soft bed. _I could almost live here_, I thought. I had honestly never felt so at home. I was so exhausted I couldn't sleep. Rose's words kept ringing around in my head. _It didn't MEAN anything. We didn't DO anything. Just friends. It's JUST Scorpius. _Just me, don't worry. I couldn't help but feel a stinging sensation like a hot poker against my heart every time I thought of it. Special me. I rolled over until I was facing the ceiling and rubbed my face with my hands until my eyes saw stars. I shook my head to clear it, stared at the blank white ceiling, hoping that some message would appear to tell me what to do. That might be nice.

It was the first time in months I hadn't woken up in the middle of the night shaking and sweaty, this time it was tears. My dreams were different this time, but somehow even worse than before. I didn't want to sleep, but I couldn't help it. The last coherent thought I had before I fell asleep for the last time wasn't a wish, or a plea. It was an apology. For all the things I couldn't be to everyone and everything in my life.

_I'm sorry._

__**Huh? Kind of a filler chapter, next, we get into all that exciting junk.**

**Next chapter they go to Diagon Alley and meet an old enemy. It all depends on whether Scorpius can handle his biggest fear or not;) We'll be vouching for him. Or.. I will.**

**Thank you for reading and tolerating my insanity. And, do remember that it takes only 4 seconds to leave a review. You know, just putting that out there.**

**I love all of you, and the next installment should be out soon. **

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